For weeks, Ryan O’Reilly was one of the top names on the trade market. Several teams were in the running to acquire him, including the Montreal Canadiens. A deal was even close to taking place between the Habs, New York Islanders, and Buffalo Sabres that would’ve ended up with O’Reilly being on the team.
Before that, talks were extensive, but Buffalo asking for the third-overall pick was holding off discussions. It was safe to say that Jason Botterill wasn’t willing to devalue the return for O’Reilly, and he was right to do so.